The Pacific: SeriesReview

Share.

It's not quite Band of Brothers, but it was never meant to be.

By Ramsey Isler

When The Pacific was first announced, many critics and fans wondered if the series could separate itself from the many World War II stories that came before it. Band of Brothers is considered by many to be the best TV mini-series ever made, and a tough act to follow, even for the dynamic duo of Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. Although The Pacific didn't quite measure up to its predecessor, it does add a new perspective to the mix.

The series started off with brief introductions to our cast and their pre-war lives before quickly throwing these raw recruits into the fray. Although Part One didn't show much combat action, Part Two delivered on the kind of harrowing, intense battle scenes that would come to be part of the signature feel of the series. Then something kind of odd happened – the series took a break from the combat and spent two episodes focusing on dramatic, personal stories featuring James Badge Dale as Leckie. Dale does an excellent job for most of the series, and in Part Three and Part Four he essentially took on a leading actor role as the story focused on the debilitating personal and psychological effects of the war. But many viewers felt this extended, dramatic departure from combat was oddly placed in a war series, especially after the intense action of Part Two. But it soon became clear that The Pacific was trying to cover the full spectrum of the war experience, and sometimes the viewers who were expecting a gritty, unflinching portrayal of the horrors of combat were left with something they weren't exactly looking for. These unpredictable transitions from hardcore action to slowly-paced drama continued all the way up to the series finale.

Part Five picked up with the action again and started to get more into the tale of Eugene Sledge. We saw life as a Marine through his eyes for the latter part of the series, and watched him develop from a meek and introspective recruit to a hardened soldier driven to the breaking point over and over again. Part Five also introduced PFC Merriell "Snafu" Shelton, portrayed by Rami Malek. Snafu's strange characteristics provided another lens through which we could view a different perspective on the kinds of people who fought this war. This episode also marked the point where the combat scenes dramatically improved in quality, with great direction, set design, and special effects that really made these battles seem real.

For the majority of the series, the episodes either focused on dramatic storytelling or combat action, rarely achieving a good mix of the two in a single story. But Part Seven proved to be a notable exception, with remarkable scenes between Snafu and Sledge, the portrayal of Captain Andrew Haldane's life and death, and some oddly dark comedic scenes in the midst of the warfare.

Although most of the concepts in the series were executed very well, there were some glaring missteps at times. While I did very much enjoy the inclusion of the life and sacrifice of John Basilone, I felt that his journey once he returned stateside could have been handled better. This side story was told in extremely short pieces throughout a number of episodes in the middle of the series, culminating in one episode that chronicled his whirlwind romance with his wife, and subsequent death. Part Eight told a wonderful love story, but its setup and pacing left a lot to be desired.

But Part Nine was amazing, and the best of everything the series had to offer. It was an unflinching look at the horrors of battle, the plight of the Okinawan civilians, and a good look at how Eugene's youthful demeanor had been replaced with a cold, angry fatalism. Joe Mazzalo carried this story on his shoulders and delivered one hell of a performance despite some tough material and high physical demands.

The series finale brought us back out of the harsh combat and into life after the war. While Leckie returns to civilian life fairly well, Sledge has a much more difficult time, solidifying his tale as one of the most tragic in the series. But really the best part of this episode is the photo montage at the end, which beautifully unifies the lives of the real soldiers with the actors who portrayed them. This episode was all about closure, both for the viewer and for the men who finally had their stories told to a wide audience.

In the end, comparisons will still be made to Band of Brothers. Although I don't think The Pacific overtakes Band of Brothers in terms of technical execution and overall entertainment value, many of the comparisons made will be moot as The Pacific is a different kind of series with different goals. This series sought to look beyond the combat, and it paints a full, vivid picture of the war and the people that fought in it through focused, individual tales. That's a tall order for any series to fulfill, and although The Pacific doesn't always come through with shining colors, it does make an admirable effort.